spying_on_first_amendment_activity_12.19.12_update

The Department of Defense DOD Threat and Local Observation Notice TALON database included information on numerous anti-war and counter-recruitment protests, including campus demonstratio

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Spying on First Amendment Activity - State-by-State

Unfortunately, it appears that these old tendencies have once again come to the fore Law

enforcement agencies across America continue to monitor and harass groups and individuals for doing little more than peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights

For example, in 2009, at least four troubling Fusion Center reports have come to light:

- The Virginia Fusion Center's Homegrown Terrorism Document:

The following is a state-by-state compilation of examples of these behaviors in recent years

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Alaska

• Military Intelligence Spied on Alaskans for Peace According to an Electronic Frontier

Foundation FOIA, military intelligence spied on the anti-war group Alaskans for Peace and Justice in 2005 ( http://rawstory.com/2010/02/military-spied-planned-parenthood-civilian-phone-calls/)

Arizona

• Outrage at arrest intensifies Students upset by University of Arizona Police

Department's arrest of a 24-year-old graduate student who used sidewalk chalk to

advertise a protest Thursday, have been speaking out on campus and online 9/28/2009 (http://wildcat.arizona.edu/news/outrage-at-arrest-intensifies-1.556708#)

• Maricopa County Sheriff Department Surveils Political Enemies An internal report

accuses the Maricopa County’s Chief Deputy Sheriff of using Maricopa’s anti-corruption unit to conduct politically motivated investigations and of surveiling Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio’s political rivals ( http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/17/nation/la-na-joe-arpaio-20100918)

California

• FBI Infiltration of Islamic Center An FBI agent testified in court in 2009 that an

informant had been planted at an Islamic Center in Irvine, California Surveillance has prompted some Muslims to avoid mosques and cut charitable contributions out of fear of being questioned or branded as 'extremists.' (

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-04-21-muslim-surveillance_N.htm and http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=87254&sectionid=3510203)

• Los Angeles Police Department Reporting Policy LAPD Special Order #11, dated March

5, 2008 includes a list of 65 behaviors LAPD officers "shall" report The list includes such innocuous, clearly subjective, and First Amendment-protected activities as, taking measurements, using binoculars, taking pictures or video footage "with no apparent esthetic value," drawing diagrams, taking notes, and espousing extremist views (

http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/privacy/fusion_update_20080729.pdf and Appendix B at http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/mccarecommendation-06132008.pdf)

• California Office of Homeland Security Reports on Peaceful Protests In 2006, the LA

Times gained access to California Office of Homeland Security reports detailing

information about political demonstrations throughout California including an animal rights rally outside a Canadian consulate office in San Francisco to protest the hunting of seals, a demonstration in Walnut Creek at which government officials spoke against the war in Iraq, and a Women's International League for Peace and Freedom gathering at a courthouse in support of a 56-year-old Salinas woman facing federal trespassing charges

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(http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jul/01/local/me-security1,

http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/privacy/fusion_update_20080729.pdf)

• Santa Cruz Police Infiltration of DIY New Year's Parade When the city of Santa Cruz

decided to cancel their annual "First Night" New Year's Parade, community activists decided to create their own parade, the Do It Yourself (DIY) New Year's Parade Police found out about parade plans in late October 2005 and decided to spy on the group by infiltrating their parade planning meetings Police Chief Howard Skerry promised a complete investigation but tapped Deputy Chief Vogel—the very person who authorized the infiltration—to determine whether the authorization was appropriate Not

surprisingly, Vogel's report cleared the Santa Cruz Police Department of any

wrongdoing (http://www.aclusantacruz.org/node/76)

• California National Guard Monitoring of Mothers' Day Peaceful Protest On May 5,

2005, a member of Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger's press office, informed California tional Guard officials that members of CODEPINK, Gold Star Families for Peace, and others were planning to "mark Mother's Day urging the Governor and Legislature to support bringing California National Guardsmen home from Iraq by Labor Day The information was then forwarded up the chain of command and National Guard

Na-intelligence staff was asked to monitor the event

(https://www.aclu-sc.org/downloads/89/773257.pdf)

• Military Monitors Campus Anti-Recruiting Protests Two Department of Defense (DOD)

Threat and Local Observation Notices (TALON) from April 2005 describe anti-recruiting protests by students at the University of California campuses of Berkeley and Santa Cruz The source for both TALON reports, a "special agent of the federal protective service, U.S Department of Homeland Security," relayed protest information he received through email alerts (http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/DODAnti-

WarProtestDatabaseTracker.pdf and konstanty-hordynski-target-illegal-spying)

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/statement-• Undercover Campus and County Sheriffs Attend Cal State Fresno Lecture on Veganism

On November 10, 2004, the California State Fresno student group Campus Peace and Civil Liberties Coalition (CPCLC) hosted an on-campus lecture by a speaker formerly employed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) The lecturer

addressed approximately 60 people about the benefits of a vegan diet Six of those 60 attendees were undercover police officers—three from the county sheriff's department and three from the campus police department (pg 16,

http://www.aclunc.org/issues/government_surveillance/asset_upload_file714_3255.pdf?ht=)

• Military Monitors Peaceful Anti-War Protest A November 2004 Department of Defense

(DOD) Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) report addressed a "protest against the Iraq war planned by a Sacramento chapter of a U.S domestic group at the Sacramento Military Entrance Processing Station." The San Francisco Joint Terrorism Taskforce (JTTF) had advised commanders of the San Francisco and San Jose stations of the protests, and notes that "it appears this protest will most likely be peaceful, but some type of vandalism is always a possibility." (

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spyfiles/27988pub20070117.html)

• The Military Monitors Veterans for Peace Veterans' Day Protest The Sacramento

Chapter of Veterans for Peace (VFP)'s 2004 Veteran's Day protest at the Sacramento

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Military Entrance Processing Station landed them as the first entry on a published

Department of Defense (DOD) Threat and Local Observation Notices (TALON) extract (http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/24272res20060227.html)

• Costa County Sheriff's Homeland Security Unit Officers Infiltrate Union Demonstration

When Southern California Safeway store workers went on strike in 2003–2004, a

delegation of religious leaders planned a pilgrimage to the Safeway CEO's home to deliver postcards supporting the striking workers Sheriff's deputies from Contra Costa County Sheriff's Homeland Security Unit went to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), and staff directed them to a contact number on a flyer Despite the fact that the sheriff's department had been in contact with the pilgrimage organizers—union leaders saw the same sheriff's deputies in plainclothes attending a demonstration at

a Safeway store in San Francisco (pg 16,

http://www.aclunc.org/issues/government_surveillance/asset_upload_file714_3255.pdf)

• Fresno County Sheriff's Office Infiltrates Peace Fresno An undercover Fresno County

Sheriff's deputy infiltrated a non-violent activist group, Peace Fresno, attending meetings and rallies, taking minutes for the group on one occasion and traveling to a demonstration

in Sacramento A Peace Fresno member learned of the infiltration when an obituary in

the Fresno Bee revealed the deputy's true identity and identified him as a member of the

Fresno County Sheriff's Department's "anti-terrorist team." (pg 13,

• California Anti-Terrorism Information Center Bulletin on Anti-War Protest On April 7,

2003, the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC) issued a bulletin

warning of violence by demonstrators at an anti-war demonstration at the Port of

Oakland Police responded in an excessive manner, firing wooden dowels at protesters and injuring over 50 people The public disclosure of that bulletin, a significant follow-up investigation by the Oakland Tribune, and advocacy by the ACLU led Attorney General Bill Lockyer to commission a review of the agency (pg 6,

• Sacramento Police Department Videotapes Peaceful Protestors On February 15, 2003,

peace and justice organizations held a demonstration in Sacramento to protest the impending war in Iraq Approximately 10,000 people attended the peaceful

then-demonstration The Sacramento Police Department provided security for the event They also sent a police department employee to videotape the demonstration Sacramento Police confirmed that taping of the protest was at least partially intended to modify protesters' behavior (pg 19,

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National Laboratory Despite the innocuous nature of the demonstration, the bulletin advised law enforcement to contact either the local JTTF or CATIC's Situation Unit with

"any additional information regarding this rally, potential problems occurring with this rally or information regarding any similar situations." (pg 7,

• San Francisco Police Infiltrate Anti-War Protests During the huge protests against the

war in Iraq between October 2002 and February 2003, several San Francisco police officers posed as protesters to monitor crowd activities This infiltration of the protests by undercover officers was never authorized by the chief of police, representing a failure to follow San Francisco's Guidelines for First Amendment Activities (pg 18,

organization's Washington, DC address, phone number, and email (pg 11,

"the Afghan New Year's Festival in Pleasanton at the Alameda County Fairgrounds" and

a "march against 'War and Racism'" in San Francisco (pg 6,

California," including mosques in L.A and San Diego, and revealed "a federal

surveillance program targeting Muslim groups" in the United States

(http://ww.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080718/news_1m18theft.html)

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• Military Collects Information on Student and Community Peace Groups The Department

of Defense (DOD) Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) database included information on numerous anti-war and counter-recruitment protests, including campus demonstrations by UC Santa Cruz Students Against War and the UC Berkeley Stop the War Coalition, a Sacramento protest organized by military veterans, and a San Francisco demonstration organized by local activists The TALON database also designated the level of concern posed by the protest activity (pg 10,

http://www.aclunc.org/issues/government_surveillance/asset_upload_file714_3255.pdf and http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spyfiles/24142res20060214.html)

• LAPD Disrupts Bicycle Protest of BP Oil Spill An LAPD officer, claiming to be at the

intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue to ticket cyclists who failed

to stop at red lights, kicked at a passing bicyclist during a protest ride against BP's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill ( http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/bicyclist-kicked-lapd-video-bp-protest.html)

• Activists Cry Foul Over FBI Probe Peace activists and labor organizers who were the

target of large-scale FBI raids in September, 2010, and who believe they being

improperly targeted as a result of their political activism and speech, are fighting back against the probe by speaking out, organizing and generating grassroots support

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/activists-cry-foul-over-fbi-probe/2011/06/09/AGPRskTH_story.html?hpid=z2)

• SF cell shutdown: Safety issue, or hint of Orwell? Bay Area Rapid Transit officials

infringed on the First Amendment rights of demonstrators by shutting down power to cellular towers in order to disrupt a protest, after learning that the demonstrators intended

to coordinate their activities via mobile devices 14/business/29887029_1_free-speech-social-media-bart-officials)

(http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-• Flight Crew Starts Security Alert After 3 Passengers Perform Prayer Ritual On Bound Flight Report of "suspicious" activity results in FBI detention and questioning

LA-for three Jewish Mexican nationals who engaged in a prayer ritual during a flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles (http://www.washingtonpost.com/pilots-lock-down-

cockpit-alert-lax-authorities-after-3-passengers-perform-prayer-on-flight/2011/03/13/ABcQ1lT_story.html)

• Lawsuit Alleges FBI Violated Muslims’ Freedom Of Religion A paid FBI informant

spied on hundreds of Muslims praying at their Mosques in Southern California to gain information on possible terrorists, and targeted them because of their religion

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/22/AR2011022206975.html)

• Undercover Police Spied on Protestors at Occupy LA The Los Angeles Police

Department infiltrated the Occupy LA encampment with undercover officers, used video surveillance, and monitored internet chat and social-networking sites in order to spy on protesters’ activities The LAPD defended the surveillance operation as a necessary response to reports of protesters advocating violence against police and said a “key concern” was the presence of individuals belong to or affiliated with “radical

organizations.” (idUSTRE7BA0OR20111211)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/11/us-protests-undercover-• FBI Profiled Northern California Muslims FBI documents reveal that from 2004

through at least 2008, FBI agents in San Francisco engaged in a “mosque outreach”

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program, which was used to collect intelligence on the Northern California Muslim community under the guise of community outreach The documents indicate the

information collected, which consisted primarily of First Amendment protected activity, was labeled “positive intelligence” and disseminated to other intelligence or law

enforcement agencies outside of the FBI, potentially in violation of the Privacy Act The surveillance was uncovered in documents that were disclosed as part of joint Freedom of Information Act requests by the ACLU or Northern California, the Asian Law Caucus and the San Francisco Bay Guardian (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/28/local/la-me-fbi-california-mosques-20120328)

• FBI Monitored Bay Area Occupy Movement Documents obtained by the ACLU of Northern California reveal that the FBI conducted surveillance of Occupy activists

planning protests at the Port of Oakland The FBI claims its surveillance of these First Amendment protected activities did not violate federal rules protecting privacy or free speech (http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_21538019/documents-show-fbi-

monitored-occupy; within-rules-3872525.php; http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-national-security/foia-documents-show-fbi-was-watching-occupy-protestors-some-docs)

Columbus Day in Denver in 2002

(http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/20298prs20050802.html)

• Law Enforcement Infiltrates Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center In 2003, Rocky

Mountain Peace and Justice Center was engaged in several civil disobedience actions, along with other peace and social justice groups On two occasions, they learned that they had been infiltrated by undercover law enforcement officers who had attended their nonviolence trainings and participated in the actions with them

(http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/24217res20060220.html)

• Federal Protective Service Shares Information on "Flying Circus" Protest In the summer

of 2002, Denver activists planned a peaceful, several-day event billed as the "Flying Circus." On July 30, the Federal Protective Service intercepted an email containing a schedule for the event FPS forwarded it to the intelligence unit of the Colorado Springs Police Department as well as the JTTF and the Denver FBI office The Federal Protective Service also forwarded the same email to the Denver Police Department's Intelligence Unit (http://aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/imce/email_ahmad_73002_23574.pdf)

• Federal Protective Service Shares Information on Transform Columbus Day Event In

August 2002, the Federal Protective Service intercepted an email containing information about the Transform Columbus Day events planned for Denver FPS forwarded the

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intercepted email to the intelligence unit of the Colorado Springs Police Department as well as the JTTF and the Denver FBI office The Federal Protective Service forwarded the same email to the Denver Police Department's Intelligence Unit (http://aclu-

co.org/sites/default/files/imce/email_ahmad_81302_23571.pdf)

• Colorado Springs Police Records and Shares Names and License Plate Numbers of Environmental Activists Environmentalist and conservationist groups organized a

peaceful demonstration at the North American Wholesale Lumber Association's

(NAWLA) annual convention in Colorado Springs in June 2002 The Colorado Springs police provided the Denver Intelligence Unit with a two-page list of names and license plate numbers of participants in the nonviolent protest The cover sheet indicates that the list of names and plates would be forwarded to the JTTF, who was apparently expecting the information An FBI spokesperson admitted that the agency requested the list of plate numbers (http://aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/imce/Springs_Broadmoor_June2002.pdf and http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/24240res20060222.html)

• Federal Protective Services Intercepts and Shares E-mail about Palestine Rally An

e-mail announcing a rally about Palestine at the state capitol in Denver on April 5, 2002 was intercepted by the Federal Protective Service, which forwarded it to the Denver Police Department Intelligence Unit and the FBI (http://aclu-

co.org/sites/default/files/imce/email_Palestine_rally_Apr2002.pdf)

• Denver Intelligence Unit Keeps Binder of Activist Organizations A 3-ring binder

maintained by the Denver Intelligence Unit contains a section labeled "Colorado and Local Links: JTTF Active Case List." The pages in that section consist of printouts made

in April 2002 from the web sites of such local Colorado groups as Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace, American Friends Service Committee, Denver Justice and Peace Committee, Rocky Mountain Independent Media Center, and the Human Bean Company (http://aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/imce/JTTF_Active_Case_CoCoMEP.pdf, http://aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/imce/JTTF_Active_Case_AFSC.pdf, and http://aclu-

co.org/sites/default/files/imce/17069-70.pdf)

• JTTF Adds Environmental Extremists and Black Extremists to VGTOF In anticipation of

the 2002 Olympics, the JTTF added "anarchists" and eight separate categories of

"extremists" (such as "environmental extremist" and "Black extremist") to the FBI's Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File (VGTOF) When patrol officers check the name of a driver or a suspect in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the VGTOF database is automatically searched, too (Ann Davis, "Data Collection Is Up

Sharply Following 9/11," Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2003, at B1 and

http://aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/imce/20382.pdf)

• Colorado University Bolder Police Department Intercepts and Shares E-mail about Fur Free Friday An e-mail sent to members of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense about Fur

Free Friday, dated November 7, 2001, was intercepted by the Colorado University

Boulder police department CUBPD forwarded it to the Denver Police Department

Intelligence Unit and the Joint Terrorism Task Force

(http://aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/imce/email_RMAD_FurFreeFriday.pdf)

• JTTF Interest in Food Not Bombs A memo released pursuant to an ACLU FOIA

requests indicates an ongoing federal interest, through the FBI JTTF, in Food Not Bombs,

a Colorado group that provides free vegetarian food to hungry people and protests war and poverty ( http://www.aclu.org/spyfiles/idaho_pressrelease.pdf)

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Connecticut

• Activist Arrested for Photographing Governor at Public Event Hartford Police arrested

political activist after he photographed Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell at a public event Connecticut State Police monitored the activist’s blog, which was critical of the

Governor, and sent local police his photograph as a potential threat to the Governor ( http://www.the40yearplan.com/CNN_on_Fusion_Centers.php)

• Activist Claims State Police Engaged in Political Spying Online The activist who was

arrested for photographing Governor Jodi Rell at a public event alleges in court

documents that State Police used phony e-mail identities to subscribe to bulletin boards and e-mail lists of political parties, such as the Green Party and the Democratic Party, and advocacy groups such as the Central Connecticut State University Progressive Student Alliance Committee ( http://www.courant.com/shopping/hc-krayeske-charges-police-1220.artdec20,0,3377048.column)

Florida

• Military Surveillance Gets Friends Meeting of Ft Lauderdale listed on Government Watchlist During the 2004 and 2005 Air-Sea Shows, the Friends Meeting of Ft

Lauderdale distributed information about conscientious objection to recruiters and

interested civilians and handed out peace literature An affiliated activist learned that this action had landed him on a government watchlist when, shortly after news broke about domestic surveillance by the Department of Defense, a local reporter called him and asked if he was a "credible threat" (

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/24251res20060224.html)

• JTTF and US Army Recruiting Command Briefed on Anti-War Guerilla Theater The

Broward Anti-War Coalition's protest at the Florida air and sea show was included as a Department of Defense (DOD) Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) database threat entry The U.S Army Recruiting Command and the JTTF in Miami had been briefed on the planned protest, which was intended to "counter military recruitment and the 'pro-war' message with 'guerrilla theatre.'" (pg 4,

• FBI Bulletin Warns of FTAA Protests On November 15, 2003, the FBI issued

Intelligence Bulletin no 94, entitled "Potential for Criminal Activity at Free Trade Area

of the Americas (FTAA) Annual Meeting." It noted that the FTAA annual meeting

"historically draws large scale demonstrations, both peaceful and by those individuals

or groups who wish to disrupt the meeting." The bulletin referenced a previous bulletin as providing "guidance on tactics used during protests and demonstrations" that could

"assist in preparations for the FTAA annual meeting." (Memorandum for Glenn A

Fine, Inspector General Re: Constitutionality of Certain FBI Intelligence Bulletins, April

5, 2004:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/19849237/CONSTITUTIONALITY-OF-CERTAIN-FBI-INTELLIGENCE-BULLETINS)

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• Undercover Police Used Smartphones to Monitor RNC Protests Police officers spied on protestors at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL, photographing activists for identification with facial recognition software, and recording “evidence-quality” video, voice, and data with enhanced smartphones The surveillance effort, sponsored by private companies, served as a pilot for the development of a National Public Safety Broadband Network, which will link law enforcement surveillance and communications around the country (http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/smartphones-used-to-monitor-tampa-protests-20120917;

Intelligence Center, and the Atlanta Recruiting Battalion were among the local

organizations advised of the protests (pg 5,

• FBI Surveillance of SOA Protest FBI surveillance of School of the Americas (SOA)

Watch's peaceful protests and acts of civil disobedience outside Fort Benning, once classified as "Routine," after 2001 became "Priority" and subject to "Counterterrorism" monitoring ( http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/25442prs20060504.html and

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/25436res20060504.html)

• Military Lists Georgia Peace & Justice Coalition as a Threat to DOD A Department of

Defense (DOD) Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) report listing area protests organized by the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition (GPJC) contends that the Students for Peace and Justice Network poses a threat to DOD personnel Citing a DHS source, the TALON supports its claim by listing prior acts of civil disobedience in California and Texas, including a protest at the University of California Santa Cruz campus, a sit-in, and street theatre (pg 5,

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/24168res20060216.html)

• Veteran Surveiled for Participation in Recruiting Station Protest A veteran who was

honorably discharged from the US army after eight years of active duty and who is married to a man who remains on active duty in the military, found herself under

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Pentagon surveillance when she participated in a protest near an Army Recruiting Station

in Atlanta, GA on Ponce de Leon Avenue

(http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spyfiles/24155res20060215.html)

• DHS Terrorist Watch List Report on Muslim Conference In March 2008, DHS produced

a "terrorism watch list" report about a Muslim conference in Georgia at which several Americans were scheduled to speak, even though it "did not have any evidence the

conference or the speakers promoted radical extremism or terrorist activity," and such speech is constitutionally protected

Idaho

• FBI Questions Idaho Progressive Student Alliance Leaders In May 2005, the ACLU and

ACLU of Idaho filed FOIA to request information on behalf of the Idaho Progressive Student Alliance (IPSA), a non-partisan student group that focuses on social, economic, gender, and environmental justice The IPSA President and Secretary were questioned by FBI agents in March 2004 regarding the IPSA's boycott of Taco Bell to protest the

conditions of Immokalee workers in Florida

(http://www.aclu.org/spyfiles/idaho_pressrelease.pdf)

Illinois

• Military Reports on American Friends Service Committee Action The American Friends

Service Committee (AFSC) appears in a Department of Defense (DOD) Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) report regarding the group's planned protests at a

recruiting center in Springfield, Illinois A "special agent of the federal protective service,

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U.S Department of Homeland Security," provided information he received in an email alert from the AFSC: "[A] series of protest actions were planned in the Springfield, IL area to focus on actions at military recruitment offices with the goals to include: raising awareness, education, visibility in community, visibility to recruiters as part of a national day of action focused on military recruiters." (pg 3,

• JTTF Investigates Muslim Man Using Hand Counter to Track His Daily Prayers A

Middle Eastern man in traditional clothing sparked a three-day police manhunt in

Chicago when a passenger on the bus he was riding notified the police that he was

clicking a hand counter during the trip A JTTF investigation into the episode revealed he was using the counter to keep track of his daily prayers, a common Muslim practice (http://guylawson.com/pdf/rollingstone/fearfactory.pdf, and pg 7,

• FBI Search Activists’ Homes and Issue Subpoenas In September 2010, FBI agents

searched the homes of several anti-war activists as well as the apartment of the executive director of an Arab American civil rights organization They also issued subpoenas to several activists requesting records of payments to the Arab American civil rights

organization The FBI stated that it is seeking evidence in support of an ongoing Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation into activities concerning the material support of terrorism, but the activists suspect the raids were meant as intimidation; the activists targeted had all protested at the Republican National Convention in 2008 and several also contribute to a socialist newsletter that is generally supportive of leftist groups and

critical of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

(http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/09/fbi-serves-search-warrants-he )

• Supreme Court Refuses to Review Case Striking Down Illinois Law Prohibiting

Recording of Police The Supreme Court refused to hear a petition to revive a law

prohibiting audio-recording police officers in public, after a lower court struck down the law on constitutional grounds in response to a challenge by the ACLU of

Illinois (

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/26/usa-court-police-surveillance-idUSL1E8MQ76P20121126; illinois-eavesdropping-law/)

Indiana

• IDP Alters Peaceful Protest's Route In August 2003, the National Governors Association

(NGA) held a meeting in Indianapolis In preparation for the NGA meeting, the

Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) Intelligence Unit created a "protest zone" outside

of the hotel where the governors stayed and where many of the meetings took place The

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local police soon learned that a group of demonstrators wished to walk the eight or nine blocks from St Mary's Catholic Church to the protest zone The demonstrators were silent and non-disruptive, yet They were met by twenty to thirty IPD police officers riding on bikes and in cars The IPD decided, on the spot, to develop the route that the demonstrators were required to take Following the completion of protest activity in the protest zone, a number of the demonstrators wished to return to St Mary's in a group as a continuation of their protest but were again escorted back by the police Several of the protestors sued O'Connor for violating their First Amendment rights to peacefully protest

by altering their route On February 9, 2005, the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Indiana found in favor of the protestors

(http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/in%20free%20speech%20district%20court.pdf)

• IDP Raids Solidarity Books Collective The IPD raided Solidarity Books Collective

(SBC), a local political awareness group

(http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/in%20free%20speech%20district%20court.pdf)

Iowa

• JTTF Delivers Grand Jury Subpoenas to Peace Activists and Drake University In

February 2004, it came to light that four peace activists and Drake University had

received federal grand jury subpoenas, which were delivered by a local JTTF officer The U.S Attorney's statement on the subpoenas shows that they were all related to a mid-November seminar at Drake University, led by the National Lawyers Guild, on non-violent civil disobedience

(http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/16989prs20040210.html)

• FBI and Local Police Infiltrate Iowa Peace Groups Before Republican National

Convention An FBI informant and a Ramsey County Minnesota Sheriff's Deputy went

undercover to infiltrate Iowa City peace groups in advance of the Republican National Convention, and attended an Iowa City campus anti-war demonstration FBI files include detailed descriptions of a dozen Iowa political activists

of the United Methodist Church (http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=13183862)

Kansas

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• Kansas Police Department Trains Rental and Maintenance Staff to Spy for Them One

Kansas police department trains maintenance and rental staffs of apartment complexes, motels, and storage facilities to look for things like "printed terrorist materials and

propaganda." (pg 14, http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/privacy/fusioncenter_20071212.pdf)

Kentucky

• Minister Placed on FBI List for Ordering Books on Islam A Greenup County minister

was detained for more than an hour by Canadian border officials while trying to enter the country in fall 2004 on a sightseeing trip The Reverend has never been arrested, has never been charged with a crime, and has never even participated in a protest Border officials indicated that he was being detained because he is the subject of an FBI file He believes he may have come under federal scrutiny immediately after September 11 when

he ordered books over the Internet about the Islamic religion, including several copies of the Koran He did so – at the request of his congregation – to help the church members gain a better understanding of the faith

(http://www.aclu.org/spyfiles/kentucky_pressrelease.pdf)

Louisiana

• Veterans for Peace Classified as Threat to DOD Personnel An April 2005 Department

of Defense (DOD) Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) points to an

altercation between a soldier and an individual at a university anti-war rally in New Orleans Despite acknowledging that "[i]t is unknown if the individuals involved in the incident are students at the local university or associated with the Veterans for Peace organization," the report alleges that the incident demonstrates that VFP should be viewed as a possible "threat" to DOD personnel (pg 5,

Maine

• FBI Intercepts and Stores E-mails Planning Peaceful Protests The FBI intercepted and

stored e-mail communications pertaining to protests at the Brunswick Naval Air Show and against the christening of an Arleigh Burke Class destroyer organized by Veterans for Peace and co-sponsored by Pax Christi Maine, PeaceWorks, WILPF, Peace Action Maine, Smilin'Trees Disarmament Farm, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Maine Coalition for Peace & Justice, Island Peace & Justice, Winthrop Area People for Peace, and Waldo County Peace & Justice (

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/27177res20061025.html)

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Maryland

• Maryland State Police Lists Activist Groups as Security Threats The Maryland State

Police listed the All People's Congress, American Friends Services Committee,

A.N.S.W.E.R, and the Campaign to End the Death Penalty are listed in a database as

"Security Threat Groups." Anti-Death Penalty information was also entered into the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency (HIDTA) Database, thereby linking advocacy with drug dealing, murder, and gang activity

(http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/05/18655440.php)

• Maryland State Police Spies on Activists The Maryland State Police spied on more than

30 activist groups, mostly peace groups and anti-death penalty advocates, and wrongly identified 53 individual activists and about two dozen organizations as terrorists The Maryland State Police shared information about these cases with the Baltimore City Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, a local police representative of the FBI's JTTF, a National Security Agency security official, an unnamed military intelligence officer, and DHS DHS further

disseminated e-mails from one of the peace groups (

http://www.aclu-md.org/Index%20content/NoSpying/NoSpying.html, Uniform Crime Reports,

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/bal-te.groups18jul18,0,4271281.story,

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-te.md.spying01oct01,1,6958564.story and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601131_pf.html)

• DHS Federal Protective Service Monitors Activist Message Boards DHS Federal

Protective Service collected and disseminated information about peaceful protests at the Silver Spring Armed Forces Recruitment Center Patrick Elder, founder of the D.C Anti-War Network, recognized one of his messages among those circulated

(http://www.gazette.net/stories/10022009/polinew200659_32527.shtml)

Massachusetts

• UMass Amherst Campus Police Joints Ant-Terrorism Taskforce In December 2002, a

police officer at the University of Massachusetts campus at Amherst was recruited by the FBI to spend several days a week working exclusively for its Anti-Terrorism Task Force The arrangement came to light after FBI agents, acting on the basis of information

provided by the campus officer, questioned a faculty member and an organizer for a campus union The faculty member is of Iraqi descent and the union organizer is from Sri Lanka (http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/17079prs20021212.html)

• Undercover Harvard Police Photographs Peaceful Protestors A plain-clothes Harvard

University detective was caught photographing people at a peaceful protest for

"intelligence gathering" purposes Protesters who then photographed the officer were arrested HUPD officers are sworn special State Police officers who often work "in

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conjunction with other agencies, including the Massachusetts State Police, Boston Police, Cambridge Police, Somerville Police, and many federal agencies." A university

spokesman refused to say what the HUPD does with the photographs it takes for

"intelligence gathering" purposes, so it is unknown whether this information was shared (pg 7, http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/privacy/fusion_update_20080729.pdf)

• Fusion Center's Standard Operating Procedures Allow Undercover Police Monitoring of First Amendment Activities The ACLU of Massachusetts recently obtained a copy of the

Commonwealth Fusion Center's "Standard Operating Procedures." The procedures allow undercover police officers to attend public meetings to gather intelligence even when there is no reasonable suspicion of illegal activity (pg 7,

• Boston Police Spied on Antiwar Groups Documents obtained by the Massachusetts chapters of the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild reveal that the Boston Police Department improperly monitored the activities of political and antiwar groups,

infringing on the activists’ First Amendment

rights (antiwar-protesters/7P0iOs86Q637BGYxI1ARBJ/story.html;

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/10/17/boston-police-accused-surveillance-http://www.aclum.org/sites/all/files/policing_dissent.pdf;

boston-police-spy-free-speech)

Michigan

• Members of Mosques Asked to Monitor Their Fellow Congregants In April 2009, the

Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan sent a letter to Attorney General Holder after mosques and other groups reported that their members had been asked by the FBI to monitor people coming to mosques and the donations they make

(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/16/national/main4949669.shtml)

• Michigan State Police Reportedly Extracting Personal Info From Cellphones Michigan

State Police (MSP) may be using portable devices to secretly extract personal information such as text messages, photos, video, and GPS data from cell phones during routine stops On April 13, the ACLU of Michigan urged the ACLU of Michigan to release information regarding the use of portable devices which can be used to secretly extract personal information from cell phones during routine stops For nearly three years, the ACLU has repeatedly asked for this information through dozens of Freedom of

Information Act requests, but to date it has not been provided

reportedly-extracting-personal-info-from-cellphones and

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engaged in ‘suspicious activity’ by going to the bathroom

(http://news.yahoo.com/passenger-cuffed-searched-over-appearance-003800344.html)

Minnesota

• FBI Seeks Informant for Surveillance at Vegan Potlucks Prior to the 2008 Republican

National Convention in St Paul, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force attempted to recruit

a University of Minnesota student arrested for vandalism to go undercover at "vegan lucks" in order to spy on groups organizing protests (http://www.citypages.com/2008-05-21/news/moles-wanted/)

pot-• Police Conduct Pre-emptive Raids Against Video Journalists, Protest Groups The

weekend before the start of the Republican National Convention, Ramsey County

Sheriffs and St Paul police conducted pre-emptive raids against a video journalist group, I-Witness, whose documentation of police misconduct during the 2004 Republican National Convention were instrumental in overturning criminal charges against protesters there Police also conducted several other raids, apparently in coordination with the FBI, and made pre-emptive arrests of people planning to protest at the RNC

(http://www.alternet.org/rights/97110/rnc_raids_have_been_targeting_video_activists_/)

• Police Conduct Mass Arrests of Protesters on Opening Day of Republican National Convention State and local police conducted pre-emptive mass arrests of more than 200

protesters and innocent pedestrians in Riverfront Park on the opening day of the

Republican National Convention

(http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chicago10/police.html)

• Mass Arrests on Final Day of Republican National Convention Result in No Charges for

323 people On the final day of the RNC police conducted mass arrests, including 323

people gathered on the Marion Street and Cedar Street bridges All 323 were later

released without charge ( charges-from-323-arrests-on-final-day)

http://minnesotaindependent.com/27157/rnc-aftermath-no-• FBI Searches Anti-War and Pro-Palestine Activists’ Homes In September 2010, the FBI

searched the homes of six of anti-war, socialist or pro-Palestinian groups seeking records

of “any payment provided directly or indirectly to” an Arab American civil rights group One of the activists whose home was searched edits a socialist newsletter and works for a socialist organization The subpoena also seeks documents relating to activists’ travels to Colombia, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Israel and any travel in connection with the socialist organization

(http://www.charityandsecurity.org/news/Searches_FBI_Anti_War_Activists)

• The shadow of suspicion falls in the Mall of America: Visitors who have done nothing wrong are winding up identified in counterterrorism reports An investigation by the

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